A Summer Bouquet - Photo by Bob Kelly

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Along the east edge of Ada Hayden Park in Ames you will find an unmowed area that is home to a variety of wildflowers. Many of them are included in this summer bouquet, and are listed here. Light purples are Crown Vetch, Small Yellows are Birds foot Treefoil, Oranges are Butterfly Weed, Yellow blooms with dark brown centers are Black Eyed Susans. The small white butterfly in the lower left is a Cabbage Butterfly.

Take a walk to your nearest road ditch, park, or pasture and see what you can find! A pro photographer friend of mine suggests that you should not just take a picture, but rather allow yourself to be taken....by the scene in front of you. As I scanned the large area of wild flowers near me this scene did that to me, and this is the final result. With warm weather and lots of rain, the crop of wild flowers has been very prolific providing much aesthetic beauty to those who allow themselves to be "taken" by it.